Fifita slams racist post
The Warriors will appoint Peter O’sullivan as the club’s recruitment manager.
Stuff broke the story earlier this week that the man who discovered Roger Tuivasa-sheck, Greg Inglis, Israel Folau, Billy Slater and more recently Latrell Mitchell, has agreed terms to join the Warriors.
Later, Warriors CEO Cameron George confirmed the news.
‘‘This is a fantastic opportunity for the Warriors,’’ George said.
‘‘This is a role that’s crucial to our future.’’
O’sullivan is regarded as a genius when it comes to spotting talent and played a crucial role in the success of the Storm and the Roosters when he was working with those clubs.
But since 2016 O’sullivan has been serving an indefinite ban from the NRL, following an investigation into his financial dealings with notorious Australian punter and former brothel owner Eddie Hayson.
O’sullivan had to explain why a substantial amount of money had been deposited into his account by Hayson.
It’s understood that the NRL will agree to lift the ban and it should be confirmed later this week that they will formally approve his registration.
The Warriors grilled O’sullivan about the ban and his relationship with Hayson, and were convinced that it was all in the past. If the NRL was worried that O’sullivan had ever provided Hayson any inside information, it’s unlikely they’d re-register him.
‘‘We’ve done our due diligence on what’s happened in the past,’’ George said.
‘‘It’s been dealt with by the National Rugby League. They’ve obviously taken whatever action they believe was appropriate.
‘‘More importantly they’ve advised myself that he’s welcome back in the game and that process is being undertaken now in terms of his registration.’’ Cronulla prop Andrew Fifita has called out a social media user who racially abused him during Sunday’s indigenous round NRL win over Canberra.
The 28-year-old on Monday night posted a screenshot of a tweet posted late in the game on Sunday.
Fifita, a proud NRL Indigenous and Tongan representative, took a similar stance against a Queensland pub during last year’s State of Origin series after he believed an Instagram post was both racist and discriminatory to his family.
He said Sunday’s remark was also offensive to both his family and friends.
"On the weekend I was passed this tweet to me after the game and they said it was when I dropped the ball over the line,’’ he posted on Instagram.
‘‘I have 1 message to all fans and people who just love to watch footy. Say No to racism, it’s a harsh world we live in but thought I would name and shame this person.
‘‘Online Social bullying is 1 of the biggest killers in the world.’’
A number of clubs have been trying to sign O’sullivan after it became likely that the NRL would let him be involved in the sport again.
Most recently, the Sea Eagles have been chasing him and he met with their CEO Lyall Gorman earlier this month. However, the Warriors appear to have won the race to sign the man regarded as the NRL’S best talent spotter.
Warriors management are aware that for too long the best young players have been snapped up by Australian NRL clubs and they believe hiring O’sullivan will reverse the trent. This isn’t Andrew Bogut big, but for the Breakers picking up prized free-agent Tai Wesley on a one-year ‘‘homecoming’’ deal fits the bill just nicely.
The Kiwi Australian NBL club desperately needed to add some proven quality to its frontline and, as has been reported previously by Stuff, Wesley was always going to be that man. He had two excellent years with the club from 2014-16, has played previously under new coach Kevin Braswell at Wellington’s Saints and is very much a known quantity in terms of his on and offcourt qualities.
Wesley was unveiled yesterday as the Breakers’ marquee offseason signing with new coach Braswell lauding the return of the hard-nosed big man.
‘‘He is one of the premier big men in the NBL – the sort of player every club would love to have on their books,’’ said Braswell. ‘‘His ability to play in the post and also stretch the floor with his perimeter shooting makes him a unique figure and adds so much to our offence. This is a big day in our off-season planning.’’
Wesley’s record in the Australian NBL speaks for itself. In his two seasons with the Breakers they won their fourth championship and then finished runner-up, and after a disappointing first stint in Melbourne he was a principal figure in the club’s first championship when they shaded the Adelaide 36ers in an epic grand final that went the distance last month.